Unreal Engine

Viewing Post from Monday May 21, 2012

UE4 To Abandon UnrealScript, Empower Kismet

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According to an article about Unreal Engine on about.com, Unreal Engine 4 will be abandoning the UnrealScript programming language for C++. Of course, many heads exploded at the news as it seemingly implied that script modding will not be possible in the new engine. However, never fear, we have contacted Epic and they have reported that script modding will be possible, it will just be in C++ instead of UnrealScript. The relevant text from the article:

For those wishing to customize further, programmers can click on a property and edit the C++ code directly, with no rebuild time required.

In the past, gameplay code existed in UnrealScript. UnrealScript is the scripting language which forms the core of current community mods, and much of the gameplay code of all previous Unreal Engine titles.

However, UnrealScript is being removed.

In its place, the engine will be 100% C++, and highly optimized.

This is an interesting deviation from the last 4 major iterations of the engine where UnrealScript has been front and center. However, this will hopefully also offer additional flexibility in what the engine can do when it is modded. The same article reports that Kismet will be empowered even more:

Unreal Kismet is being evolved to a far more powerful system. Epic claims that you will be able to create a mod entirely using the updated visual scripting system. The next generation of Kismet now allows for scripting of object behaviors, as well as the previous functionality for levels. It includes a system for visual debugging, as well as a template system referred to as blueprint, for placing of objects with pre-defined behaviors in the world.

So it seems that you will be able to make a mod end-to-end in Kismet, if that is what you want to do. Should make for an interesting update to what has remained a somewhat consistent line of editing tools for Unreal Engine.

Epic also let us know that more information would be coming out around E3, which happens June 5-7. Stay calm, deep breaths!